Creeping Death
by Reedtown
Summary: While Ed, Al, and Roy's platoon are on a business trip in Xing, a virus wreaks havoc in Amestris. And for some reason, it only targeted a single country.


_June 12__th__, 1920. 03:28. _

_ Central City, Amestris._

_**It spreads.**_

It didn't have a name, nor a specific target. It slaughtered all who breathed in the stale air beginning to filter through the city. It began on a Sunday in the month of June. And that month would be stained with the blood of despair.

The virus had nearly wiped out the entire population within the confines of the country. Abandoned buildings began to increase in numbers as their residents died off from a multitude of symptoms stemming from the strain unleashed onto the earth. It caused the infected to sweat. Then cough. Then they began to see vivid hallucinations. If that didn't drive them to insanity, their immune system began to attack itself, tearing the body apart from the inside out. There was no cure for the monstrous infection and many didn't know what it was or where it came from. This lack of knowledge and perpetration ultimately led to death even in the healthiest and strongest of them all. The city was fading. Everyone in it either dead or dying.

The religious thought it to be the wrath of god when it first appeared. Those who were indulged in sciences and the skeptics just believed it was another flu that happened to be a bit more contagious than normal. Then the virus wiped out entire cities in two weeks' time. It struck the non-believers first. Tearing them from their guarded reality, sinking its icy fangs into their skin and injecting them with venom that smelled of destruction. Those who believed in God were sparred. Took it as a sign to flee the country and find salvation in any neighboring countries that would take them in.

_June 30__th__, 1920. 14:17._

_ Dragon's Palace, Xing._

_**The unknowing.**_

"It's been great seeing you, Edward," the newly crowned emperor piped up as he threw them a charming grin, his royal purple robes gathering around his feet in shimmering waves. "Tell your girlfriend I said hello."  
The man in question stopped dead in his tracks, stiffly turning around to face the ruler of the country they had visited. "She's not my GIRLFRIEND!" he spat, brows furrowing, casting a light shade over his golden eyes. "You and Colonel Sarcasm are the only ones who have girlfriends. I'm still single and I intend to keep it that way. I don't need a woman to be nagging me all the time, anyway. That's what Al's for."

"Stop running your mouth, Fullmetal," a smooth voice intervened from the far left. The dark haired Colonel was standing casually, looking at the train ticket he held between his gloved fingers. Onyx eyes shifted from the printed paper to the two young men standing on the marble steps of the illustrious palace. "You're keeping us behind schedule. Alphonse and my men are already at the train station. It leaves in five minutes; I'll gladly leave you here if that's what you want. Also, it's _Fuhrer_ Sarcasm now."

"Wish I didn't have to travel with you," Edward muttered under his breath as he turned and continued walking down the ivory-paved path, raising a hand in farewell to Ling Yao. "You're annoying even after you became Fuhrer."

"That reminds me!" Roy exclaimed in sudden realization. Once the alchemist was within range, he thrust a hand out in front of him expectantly. "Where's my 520 Cenz? You can't try to squirm your way out of debts, Ed." This promise was one they had made years ago. Mustang would have to live to become ruler of Amestris and change the way the country was run. He did. And now it was time to be paid.

"Whatever," the younger man put in with a nonchalant wave. "You're stingy if you remember that after all this time. But I'm broke."

"How are you broke? The wages State Alchemists receive haven't changed."  
"One word."  
"Winry?"  
"_Winry._"  
Roy sighed, withdrawing his hand and rubbing his temples before letting a smirk grace his features. "Jeese, Fullmetal. I didn't think you'd be able to be domesticated. Does she make you carry her bags as well?"

Something snapped within the fair-haired boy's mind and he turned about-face, pointing an accusing finger at his superior. "Sh...SHUT UP! She hasn't done anything to me if that's what you're asking! We're going to miss the train." In an attempt to escape the Fuhrer's amused gaze, Ed broke out into a run toward the station, soles of his boots thudding on the concrete as he increased the distance between himself and the Dragon's Palace, not bothering to look back. He never looked back.

_ July 7__th__, 1920. 09:36._

_ East City, Amestris._

_**Realization.**_

__The locomotive hadn't ran in weeks. The conductor, a pudgy man with a mess of thick, black hair had tried in vain to explain why they hadn't been shipping passengers since their arrival into the country. Bad things were happening in the west. But no one among them could catch the onslaught of Xingese words rolling off the man's tongue that would tell them _what _bad things he meant. Sooner or later, Roy had manged to convince him to start the train up and take them as far as East City. That would at least save them the trouble of scouring the desert.

It wasn't right. This wasn't what the city should look like. Corpses lined the streets, starting not even five feet from the platform. The Elric brothers and the military gang could only stare as the train pulled away at a faster speed than deemed safe. In the short time they had left on international business, a mass homicide had taken place. A mass homicide with no traces of blood or carnage to the cadavers. The air smelled foul.

Roy was the first to move. Stepped over the gray-skinned body of a woman who had fallen where she stood, not aware that it would be the final minutes of her life and that she never would make it to see her daughter get married in the next town over. The man had seen death and he knew what it smelled like. To him, it carried the scent of fire—and of guilt. But something was ominous about the sheer number of dead. Wasn't natural. What happened? "Looks like something swept through here and wiped the whole city out," he observed, voice pitched lower out of anxiety.

"Wh...what went on? There's no blood. There isn't anything... What could have done this!?" the voice of Alphonse echoed from its armored shell, bringing Edward out of his shocked stupor.

"God damn it." Ed swallowed the bile that rose in his throat as he stepped off the platform, landing his foot right through the ribcage of an unidentifiable corpse. Pupils dilated as he yanked his boot from the chest cavity and stumbled backwards, landing on solid ground, bits of decomposing flesh clinging to the rubber sole. "Oh...Oh my g-god." It didn't occur to him that there was something peculiar about how easily the sternum fell apart under his body weight. Shakily, the blond got back onto his feet as Al rushed over, aiding in the motion that proved to be harder than it should have been.

Fuhrer Mustang, followed by his loyal platoon, maneuvered easily into the middle of the street, looking up and down the abandoned road with a blank expression. As the highest power of this country, this was not something he ever wanted to see. The very people he had promised to bring a better life were now lying without any life at all. It disturbed the man, and caused him to mark himself as a failure. Those self-loathing thoughts would come later, however, as Fullmetal's introduction with an unusually empty torso sparked an extremely confound thought. The bone density of the average adult human should be able to withstand a decent amount of weight, but the bones had snapped like twigs. He raised his foot and pressed it down on a different carcass, feeling the ribcage give into the slight pressure before collapsing inward. Risked a look inside. Saw nothing but stringy masses of flesh, seemingly eaten away. A closer look told him that no sort of parasite had done this, as there was no evidence of any sort of disruption within the body. Whatever caused these deaths was something out of the ordinary, something he wouldn't have been able to prevent, even if he was the best damn Fuhrer in the universe.

___July 7__th__, 1920. 10:11._

_ East City, Amestris._

_**Voices to be heard.**_

__A few more examinations were preformed and they had all found that whatever had killed the people did it in the same, gory fashion. The organs had been mutilated—the conclusion the Elrics had drawn was that the heart and lungs had been eaten from the inside out. It was as close to the truth as they would be able to grasp. And so they wandered the city, looking for any sign, any tiny, microscopic trace that there was life to be found.

The sun began to sink low, the smell of rotting flesh hanging thickly in the air. Once already, had Edward been forced to upchuck the contents of his stomach onto the pavement and mutter a curse or two, wondering vaguely is this was what Ishbal had been like. The massacre had been explained to him before, but hearing was different than experiencing. He had to guess this was a close approximation if one took away all the emotional tolls it warred on the soldiers. "We've looked over the entire city, damn it..." he spat, leaning against a wall and slumping to the sidewalk. "No one's here but us. Everyone...is dead."

"We haven't checked Eastern Headquarters, the west district, or the downtown area," Riza put in as she paused two steps behind Roy, noticing the sudden thoughtfulness behind the distressed mask. "And this is only one city. If we can find a working phone line, it would be wise to check in with the military commands in other cities."

The Fullmetal Alchemist cast a sour glance her way, the gears in his mind slowly clicking into place, a hint of recognition gleaming in his eyes. "Fine...Me and Al will check downtown. Come on." An invory-gloved hand grasped the lavender cloth that was Alphonse's loincloth, leading the armored boy away from the rest of the group.

"Hold it, Edward," Mustang's voice cut in as he turned on his heel, a scowl darkening his features. "I'm not allowing you two to be off on your own. It's too dangerous. Havoc, Breda, go with Fullmetal and his brother. Falman, Fuery, scour the west district. Hawkeye, you're with me. We're going to make some phonecalls."


End file.
